In recent years, track lighting fixtures have become increasingly popular for both ornamental affect in interior design for lighting room interiors as well as featured lighting for illuminating specific portions of cabinets, artwork, and the like. Track lighting fixtures include an adapter that detachably engages the fixture to the track having electrical conductors for communicating electrical current to the lamp held within the fixture. The fixtures include an ornamental housing that encloses the lamp seated in a socket of the fixture. Light emits through an open end of the housing opposing the closed end having the socket for the lamp. The track lighting fixtures typically are metallic or opaque to light transmission except from the open end. Often the fixtures include pivoting and/or rotational connections whereby the housing can be selectively oriented relative to the track for directing the light in a particular direction.
The lamps used in such fixtures are often of a spot-light type lamp. The lamp includes a reflector portion and a neck portion. The light is generally emitted in a concentrated manner from the lamp. These lamps include a reflective surface on the interior of the lamp housing. The reflective surface directs the light emitted by the bulb within the lamp forwardly in the concentrated light pattern. The reflector portion can be parabolic, spherical, elliptical, or other surface providing optically reflective characteristics.
In contrast, a broader, general area illumination is provided by flood-type lamps or conventional lamps having omni-directional light dispersion characteristics. These lamps lack an interior reflective surface. These lamps disperse light generally about the lamp for area illumination.
Recently, track lighting fixtures have been available with translucent glass or ceramic shades. The illuminative effect from these translucent shades has been found unsatisfactory when used with spot-light type lamps. A forward portion of the shade is partially illuminated with light from conventional spot lamps while a base portion of the shade has a darker appearance. While a conventional bulb could be used providing illuminative effect over a greater portion of the shade, the fixture no longer would be as satisfactory when functioning for spot light applications.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved lamp directed to providing spot light features together with flood light characteristics. It is to such that the present invention is directed.